The Pentagonâs Cyber Command will create 40 offensive cyber-teams by the fall
of 2015 to help defend the nation against major computer attacks and assist
combat commands as they plan offensive capabilities, Gen. Keith Alexander
testified to Congress on Tuesday.

The new teams are part of a broader government effort to shield the nation from
destructive attacks over the Internet that could harm Wall Street or knock out
electric power, for instance.

Some teams are already in place, he said, to focus on âthe most serious
threats,â which he did not identify.

But Alexander warned that budget cuts will undermine the effort to build up
these forces even as foreign threats to the nationâs critical computer systems
intensify. And he urged Congress to pass legislation to enable the private
sector to share computer threat data with the government without fear of being
sued.

As he moves into his eighth year as director of the National Security Agency
and his third year as head of the fledgling Cyber Command, Alexander told the
Senate Armed Services Committee that the strategic threat picture is worsening.
âWeâve seen the attacks on Wall Street over the last six months grow
significantly,â he said, noting there were more than 160 disruptive attacks on
banks in that period.

[...]

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